Nemesis, or the Sky is Falling

If you have been reading here for any length of time you are aware that I consider it possible for violence to erupt this November. I consider this possible for a number of cogent reason, especially if the election is close. I also note that my friend Dan Miller shares my concern. I also note that Jonathon Turley has written an article on the concern that the US Military is doing extensive planning for domestic use with very little concern for legal or ethical concerns. Why all this is happening,you pretty much know, you can feel the anger and tension in the air. Constitutional conservatives are worried about willful violations of the Constitution by the government as well as the national debt, and for some the seeming complicity by the establishment Republican Party. Progressives, from my seat, seem to have decided that if they don’t force their views down the country now they may never have another chance (or something). It’s ugly out there.

In the meantime more people are being shot to death in Chicago than Afghanistan and other cities aren’t that far behind. Conservatives have been on a weapon and ammunition buying spree since before the 2008 election and mainstream blogs are talking about prepping for Armageddon.

Most of this takes the form of formless dread because it really is dreadful to think about America as a failed state. It would be a catastrophe on the order of the end of the Roman Empire for the world. But some are thinking about what could set it off and how it would could progress. Matt Bracken writing in the Western Rifle Shooters Association blog is one who has. Will it happen? I don’t know, it could. When? No one knows. Will it be just like this? Unlikely, but it should get you to thinking. And that’s the point,”Prior Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance” after all. If this type of scenario does happen and you don’t have a somewhat viable plan, you’ll die. Simple and tragic as that.

We have seen them all before, and we shall see them all again as history rhymes along regardless of the century or the generation of humankind nominally in control of events. But the next time we are visited by widespread, large-scale urban riots, a dangerous new escalation may be triggered by a new vulnerability: It’s estimated that the average American home has less than two weeks of food on hand. In poor minority areas, it may be much less. What if a cascading economic crisis, even a temporary one, leads to millions of EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards flashing nothing but zeroes? Or if the government’s refusal to reimburse them causes supermarket chains to stop accepting them for payment? The government can order the supermarkets to honor the cards, but history’s verdict is clear: If suppliers are paid only with worthless scrip or blinking digits, the food will stop.

In my scenario, the initial riots begin spontaneously across affected urban areas, as SNAP (supplemental nutrition assistance program) and other government welfare recipients learn that their EBT cards no longer function. This sudden revelation will cause widespread anger, which will quickly lead to the flash-mob looting of local supermarkets and other businesses. The media will initially portray these “food riots” as at least partly justifiable. Sadly, millions of Americans have been made largely, or even entirely, dependent on government wealth transfer payments to put food on their tables.

A new social contract has been created, where bread and circuses buy a measure of peace in our minority-populated urban zones. In the era of ubiquitous big-screen cable television, the internet and smart phones, the circus part of the equation is never in doubt as long as the electricity flows. But the bread is highly problematic. Food must be delivered the old-fashioned way: physically. Any disruption in the normal functioning of the EBT system will lead to food riots with a speed that is astonishing. This will inevitably happen when our unsustainable, debt-fueled binge party finally stops, and the music is over. Now that the delivery of free or heavily subsidized food is perceived by tens of millions of Americans to be a basic human right, the cutoff of “their” food money will cause an immediate explosion of rage. When the hunger begins to bite, supermarkets, shops and restaurants will be looted, and initially the media will not condemn the looting. Unfortunately, this initial violence will only be the start of a dangerous escalation.

The ransacked supermarkets, convenience stores, ATMs and gas stations will not be restocked during this period due to the precarious security situation. A single truck loaded with food or gasoline would be perceived to be a Fort Knox on wheels and subject to immediate attack unless heavily protected by powerfully armed security forces, but such forces will not be available during this chaotic period. Under those conditions, resupply to the urban areas cannot and will not take place. The downward spiral of social and economic dysfunction will therefore both accelerate and spread from city to city. These delays, in turn, will lead to more riots with the constant underlying demand that hungry people be fed, one way or another.

Catch-22, anyone? When these demands do not bring the desired outcome, the participants will ratchet up the violence, hoping to force action by the feckless state and national governments.

33 Responses to Nemesis, or the Sky is Falling

This is a good one. There is a problem with sharing it with others. I can only email it to ONE person at a time. Other places allow you to send stuff on to multiple recipients by merely adding a comma between the addressees. This is a great deterrent to passing your messages on which could expand your readership.

I could, and in truth I’m thinking about using a different server, if I can afford to-I have been a webmaster for our corporate site-it’s quite complicated if you see a application that gives you the flexibility to do everything. :-)

Good deal, I imagine we grow them somewhere in the States, no idea where, Cali, probably, everything else grows like weeds there. :-) But they keep, especially in sealed containers, don’t forget the toothpicks. :-)

There was a bit of a problem today with fire discipline today, I don’t think anybody trained in anything but Pentecostal Christianity is going to find Bosco’s page anytime soon. One more day, I suspect, remove the wreckage and press on.

I think by the end of the day we were – as far as that is possible :). Grateful to you guys for riding shotgun :). Don’t know about violence in November in the US, it got close to it on the Watchtower!

Yes, but it never got to be more than swaggering around with 2X4’s. Boys will be Boys. There was some room in there (if anybody would’ve listened) for a discourse on St. Augustine’s will, but there usually is. :-) And besides, riding shotgun is fun :-)

Yeah, he’s got the most likely cause, if violence is to happen: empty stomachs. The prices rising like they have don’t zactly bode well neither, and they will get higher say recent articles. Sigh. Still, we may eke out of this situation, Lord willin and the creek (and voter fraud) don’t rise. In the meantime, makes sense to buy and store the heck outta everything you can afford and will use eventually anyway, like meat and peanut butter.

That’s pretty much how I see it as well. It’s a plausible scenario, doen’t mean it is gonna happen. I, and you, can think of others bu, we have a history in this country of not going there, and I hope an pray we won’t this time either.

Yup, you’re going to use basic food anyway, and I don’t find the grocery store all that much fun, anyway.

A Reminder of Our Heritage

In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.

But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language.. And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people

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You have a great love of history and liturgy. You’re attached to the traditions of the ancients, yet you recognize that the old world — great as it was — is passing away. You are loyal to the customs of your family, though you do not hesitate to call family members to account for their sins.